Here Comes a Regular
by consolationsofbeing
Summary: Ellie had another daughter and this one, she decided to keep. Meet Allison "Allie" Harp, Peyton's fifteen year old sister. *Takes place in Mid-Season 3* Pairings: Brucas with eventual Leyton, Naley.


_"It's hard being left behind... It's hard to be the one who stays." _

- Audrey Niffenegger,_ The Time Traveler's Wife_

* * *

Allie "Allison" Harp has known of Peyton Sawyer for a while now. Her mother, Ellie, finally broke down and told her about her older sister's existence three months ago. She told her that eighteen years ago she'd given up a baby girl for adoption.

Ellie was twenty years old at the time and barely sober. She knew that she wasn't fit to be a mother, but refused to even consider abortion. After a month of looking at prospective couples to adopt her soon-to-be-born daughter, she met the Sawyers, and just _knew _they would love her baby as their own.

Allie understood.

The night Ellie tearfully confessed everything to her, she took it all in stride. She was compassionate, sympathetic – the whole nine yards. She ignored the innermost feelings of anger and disappointment she felt towards Ellie for keeping such a secret from her _all _of her life, because what would they accomplish? Allie's days with her cancer-ridden mother were already numbered and she wasn't willing to waste one with anger… even it was justified.

Instead, she bit her tongue and encouraged Ellie to visit her long-lost daughter. She also managed to convince her mother not to tell Peyton about her existence, afraid the revelation that Ellie kept and raised her second daughter would do much more harm than good in their bidding relationship. While Ellie was away in Tree Hill, Allie dutifully stayed at home.

Allie was there for her mother when Peyton sent her away after discovering Ellie lied to her about her artistic abilities. She told her that Peyton was understandably protective of the woman who had raised her, and that she would eventually come around. Until she did, however, Allie asserted that she wasn't going to allow her mother to sit around wallowing – they didn't have time for such things.

Time.

Time is a concept most fifteen year olds have trouble grasping, yet Allie's life seemed to revolve around it.

Two years ago her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Fourteen months and several rounds of chemotherapy later, the doctors assured her that she was finally in remission. Allie was glad the battle was finally over.

Four months ago when Ellie had awoken coughing up blood, she found out that the battle with cancer was still _over; _only the victor wasn't who she and her mother thought it'd be. Cancer had won and Ellie only had six months to live.

Well _approximately _six months was what doctor had told them. Apparently it was a lot easier to determine how and why someone was dying of cancer than _when _they were_. _Which was, in Allie's opinion, the most important.

* * *

The first time Allie saw Peyton Sawyer, her mother had 59 days left – if she took the doctor's six-month prognosis to be exact. She hadn't intended to count down the days to her mother's predicted death, by the way. In fact, she'd tried her best to forget about time all together. However, the dwindling number of days she had with her mother – the dwindling number of days in which she would be able to breathe, the dwindling number of days in which the world would remain upright – was inescapable and flashed itself into her thoughts whenever she looked at Ellie.

The day Allie first met Peyton Sawyer – the day her mother had _approximately _59 days left on Earth – had a rocky start.

Ellie woke up sicker than usual, and Allie reluctantly agreed to leave for a few hours while her mother smoked the medication prescribed to her by her doctor, medical marijuana.

Allie ended up walking the streets of River City, the town she and Ellie lived in for the past five years, taking pictures with her Canon – her most prized possession. Her mother bought it for her last Christmas, claiming she deserved the upgrade in return for her constant support throughout Ellie's chemotherapy.

Photography was Allie's passion – one of the steadily diminishing constants in her life she could always rely on to make her feel better.

Allie was torn from her thoughts as a topless, black convertible came to a stop next to her. Two teenagers were inside – a guy and girl. Allie didn't realize that one of the teenagers, the girl driving, was her sister until she asked for directions to 408 Kenosha Club Road, _aka Allie's house. _

"What do you guys want with Ellie Harp?" Allie asked, immediately wishing she hadn't. Peyton didn't know who she was! How was she going to explain how she knew Ellie?

"Well… I actually recently found out she's my birth mother. I was hoping to visit her." Peyton said, not sure why she felt to need to be honest with a stranger. "How do you know her," she asked curiously.

Allie struggled to formulate a proper answer, growing increasingly uncomfortable under Peyton's roaming eyes, which were surely taking in the fact that the two resembled each other quite a bit, their equally blonde hair being the most prominent feature.

Finally having decided on a decent lie, Allie shrugged. "I've seen her around, I guess. At the music store." She resisted the sigh of relief she wanted to release when Peyton nodded at her words, taking them to be the truth.

"Here, I'll give you directions." Allie said, walking closer to the car.

As she watched Peyton and her friend drive away, Allie sent a text to Ellie so her mother would not be caught off guard by Peyton's arrival. In the message, she also told Ellie to let her know when Peyton was gone and that until then, she'd be fine occupying herself with her photography.

Later that day, when the coast was clear, Allie returned home. Ellie informed her of Peyton's business proposition to create an album whose proceeds would go to cancer research. Together, they listened to the single Peyton left with Ellie – a song by the upcoming artist Haley James Scott.

Although it was incredibly difficult, Allie encouraged Ellie to accept Peyton's offer and go live with her. She shot down Ellie's offer to take her along. They both knew Allie's presence would be a hard pill for Peyton to swallow, a pill that Ellie simply did not have the time left to wait for Peyton to digest.

Plus, the rational part of Allie knew that she'd had fifteen incredible years alone with Ellie, while Peyton had none. It was only fair that Peyton got the opportunity to make memories with Ellie of her own, _while she was still here_.

Allie's mother left the next day for Tree Hill, after making two promises to her daughter. The first was that she would call Allie everyday, and the second, and most important, was that she'd _come back. _

Ellie managed to keep both of her promises and returned three weeks later.

However, when she returned, she was different. Ellie assured her that her stay with Peyton was everything she'd dreamed it to be _and more_, but Allie couldn't help notice that she was quieter and more subdued.

* * *

The morning of the eleventh day since her mother's homecoming, Allie woke up to find an extremely pale Ellie furiously scribbling what looked to be a letter at the kitchen table. She quickly shook off the chill that went through her body at the sight, the countdown in her head assuring her that her mother had a whole 26 days left.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," Ellie greeted Allie, as soon as she became aware of her presence. She tactfully pushed the letter she was writing under a nearby place mat.

"Hey, Mom," Allie replied, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "What would you like for breakfast?"

Ever since the Allie received the news that her days with her mother were running out, she tried her hardest make every day they had left together special.

She took over all the household chores, including cooking – well at least she'd tried. Not willing to get into an argument with her mother, each time Ellie insisted on cooking or cleaning, Allie let her.

"Would you mind getting me those pancakes I love from the dinner across town?"

"Sure." Allie smiled, "Anything for my beautiful mother."

"You're so sweet. Are you sure you're mine?" Ellie smirked back.

"Ha-ha, Mom. You're so funny," she called, heading in her room to change out the pajamas she was wearing.

When she emerged, ten minutes later, Ellie somehow looked even worse for wear – perhaps it was to the somber expression that was currently gracing her face.

"Come talk to me a second, before you leave, Honey."

Allie sighed. This wasn't going to go well. Nonetheless she complied, taking a seat across from her mother at the table.

"What's up?"

"I want to talk you, about what's going to happen to you after… after I'm gone. As you know, both of my parents are dead and I don't have any siblings… I was thinking that you could –"

"No." The intensity with which the word was delivered surprised both the mother and daughter. They each wore the same expression of shock on their faces. Allie was the first to recover.

"Mom," she started, "it's a bit early for this conversation. We still have time to talk about it later." _26 Days. 26 Days. 26 Days. _Allie's head begin to reel from the speed of the two words reverberating in her thoughts.

Despite Allie's best attempts to mask the emotion in her words, Ellie easily spotted the desperation in her daughter's disputes. "It's okay, Al," she said, reaching across the table and taking one of Allie's hands into her own. "You're right. We can talk about it another time."

Allie nodded, her body sagging with relief. Ellie smiled, reassuringly. "Now, come give me a hug before you leave."

Allie complied, and Ellie wrapped her into a tight, lingering embrace. Allie took in her mother's scent – a mix of her raspberry scented shampoo and the cleaner she used on the numerous vinyl records she owned.

"I love you, Allie, I'll always love you. You know that right?" Allie nodded into her mother's shoulder.

"I love you too, Mom," she asserted. "I'll be right back with your breakfast, okay?"

"Yeah." Ellie said, releasing her daughter. "Be safe." Allie didn't notice the tears in her mother's eyes as she left.

An hour later, Allie walked down the street to her house – her mother's breakfast in hand. The trip to the diner took longer than expected; she forgot today was Sunday – the dinner's busiest day for breakfast.

As Allie caught sight of her house, specifically the ambulance parked in the driveway, she came to a halt. "_Don't think the worse, Allie," _she thought to herself._ "She still has 26 days left." _Bracing herself, Allie walked across the front lawn, to her house's entranceway.

An intense shiver ran through the entirety of her body as she caught sight of two paramedics emerging from her house carrying someone on a stretcher. "Stop!" she called running towards the men. The paramedics turned at the sound of Allie's voice, and she saw that whoever was on the stretcher was covered with a white sheet, one pale, lifeless arm dangling out from underneath it.

She recognized that arm due to the presence of the watch she had given her mother last Christmas.

The to-go plate from the diner fell from her arms.

_No._

"Mom?!" she yelled. "Where are you taking her? This is a mistake! She still has time left."

The men quickly put Ellie's body in the ambulance, while a third hurriedly emerged from the house and addressed Allie.

"Are you Elizabeth Harp's daughter?"

"Y…yes."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your mother passed awa –"

"This is a mistake." She muttered, wildly gesturing to the discarded food a few feet away from where she stood. "That's her breakfast! She sent me to the diner to get it. I need to give it her! She… she can't be... I was only away for an _hour_. I.. the doctor promised us _six months _and she still has twenty-six days left!"

The paramedic placed his hand on Allie's shoulder and bent down so that his face was level with her own. "I know that this is hard, but I need you to listen to me now, okay?"

Allie didn't nod, staring blankly at the paramedic. He looked to be in his forties and she wondered how many times he had done this before. How many times he had told someone that the _one _person they had left in the entire world was dead. Not seeming to notice her lack of a response, he continued.

"I told your sister where you both can visit your mother one last time and who to call to make the proper arrangement. We also found your mother's will on your kitchen tabl-"

"My… sister?"

"Yes. She was the one who found your mother and made the call."

"Peyton," Allie whispered. Despite the dense, heavy cloud of grief she was struggling against, she somehow managed to think of Peyton. She'd probably walked into the house happily; eager to surprise her newly discovered birth mother with an unexpected visit. Instead she was greeted with said mother's dead body. One thought echoed throughout Allie's head.

_It should have been me._

Tears began to make their slow, steady, descent down Allie's face. The paramedic pointed to the open front door of the house.

"She's over there."

Allie looked up and into the green eyes of Peyton Sawyer – the anguished eyes that were identical to her own. There were so many things she should say to her sister, needed to say, that they all became a jumbled mess and Allie couldn't make any of them out.

Allie's voice cracked as she delivered the only line she could manage under the overwhelming weight of her new motherless reality.

"Hi."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Hi, Reader! Please let me know what you think of the story so far. More details about Allie's life will be provided as the story progresses (Like her schooling situation, for example). Also, expect the upcoming chapters to be a lot more dialouge based. This chapter had to summarize Ellie's entire battle with cancer.

Thanks for reading :)


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